We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

President Joe Biden announced Monday as expected that he is blocking the sale of new oil and gas leases on America’s coastlines. 

“As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren,” Biden said in a White House announcement. 

The ban effectively applies to all of the country’s East and West coastlines, the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea.

Data from the Statistical Review of World Energy shows that, while the U.S. energy system contains a higher percentage of wind and solar than it did a decade ago, the vast bulk of energy in the U.S. comes from coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric. 

Biden had campaigned on a promise to “end fossil fuels,” and while the U.S. saw record-high production under his administration, critics have argued that the regulatory environment since 2020 has made it more difficult and expensive to produce oil and gas. 

The ban will not impact existing oil and gas production from offshore rigs, which accounts for approximately 14% of the total oil and gas production in the U.S.